1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to an in-wheel motor vehicle having improved installation of a brake device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles, which employ an internal combustion engine as a power source, may contain a great number of constituent elements, such as an engine, transmission, drive shaft, hydraulic brake system, fuel supply device, suction and exhaust devices, cooling and lubricating devices, etc., and may cause air pollution due to exhaust fumes.
Recently, vehicles using an electric motor as a power source have been actively studied to develop environmentally friendly vehicles. In one example, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2004-0021702 discloses a vehicle in which an electric motor is mounted in a wheel.
However, this kind of vehicle in which the electric motor to generate drive power is mounted inside the wheel has a limit in the shape and size of the electric motor because a speed reducer and a brake device may additionally be installed in a narrow space inside the wheel. The vehicle has difficulty incorporating a high-capacity electric motor due to the limited interior space of the wheel and therefore, has difficulty realizing sufficient drive output. Furthermore, increased load may act on a suspension due to a heavy weight of the wheel thus deteriorating vehicle dynamic performance, and poor air flow around the brake device makes it difficult to discharge heat generated during braking.